Time for a cat

By Malgorzata Smith

I’ve always had a soft spot for cats. On the farm in Poland where I grew up, they played an important role in keeping vermin at bay. But it was their companionship and independent nature that I loved most.

SOOTY

My daughter insisted we get a cat when we moved to Dorset. Until then, it hadn’t been possible: our London house stood beside a very busy road.

Sooty came from a rescue centre. Black and white, with a distinctive black nose, he quickly became a much-loved member of the family. One of his favourite places to sleep was a basket of freshly dried laundry brought in from the washing line. If we caught him curled up among the warm, clean clothes, he would look utterly innocent, as if to say, ‘Next time, remember not to leave it unattended or uncovered!’

A couple of months after we adopted him, Sooty disappeared for two days, causing the whole family great distress. We had his picture laminated, a kind man at the local shop did it for free, and put copies up at strategic points around the neighbourhood.
When Sooty finally returned of his own accord late one evening, my husband, who until then had been unsure how he felt about our new family member, kissed him and rejoiced. From that moment on, Sooty was welcome to join him in his DIY projects around the house. His contribution consisted mainly of sniffing everything in sight and investigating every newly opened space that had previously been hidden from view.

He also loved helping my daughter with her art assignments. She would cover the sitting-room table with newspapers, and Sooty would settle himself among the paints, paintbrushes and all sorts of other materials, content to serve as her muse. The trouble was that he saw no reason why the table’s return to its normal use should affect his own arrangements. Having endured the demands of being an artist’s muse, he clearly felt he had earned the right to occupy the table whenever he pleased.

Sooty was a keen hunter and regularly supplied us with dead or live mice, birds, insects and other unfortunate creatures. He even brought home a live goldfish! My husband discovered this latest offering and was far from amused. I transferred the fish to a bowl of water, while my daughter tried, unsuccessfully, to discover which of our neighbours was missing it. In the end, we found a new home for our unexpected guest with someone who had a pond and was happy to accommodate an additional goldfish. One day, Sooty presented us with a frog – and, as it happened, it was a leap year.

Perhaps we should have asked it to grant our wishes, as in the tale of the fisherman and his wife. But that story didn’t end well for either of them, so perhaps it was just as well we never tried!

My son loved Sooty so much that he would decorate his school notebooks with pictures of him. When he went to university, he set up a family WhatsApp group, insisting that we send him almost daily video clips of our beloved pet. Even his girlfriend joined Sooty’s fan club! Those little films became especially precious to us after Sooty passed away. They allowed us to revisit the everyday moments that had brought so much joy to our family and to keep his memory alive.

COOKIE

It took us two years before we felt ready to adopt another cat. This time, we chose a tabby called Cookie, who was only four months old when he joined our family. During his first few weeks with us, he climbed the curtains, got up to all sorts of mischief and tried to bite us. On one occasion, he even fell out of a first-floor window, fortunately without being hurt. While he was in quarantine, we replaced our windows, and Cookie spent hours watching the activity on the scaffolding outside with intense fascination. I am convinced that, had we allowed him out during that time, his curiosity would have got the better of him.

We suspect Cookie has a Bengal cat somewhere in his ancestry. His ears seem rather large for his head, and his body is long and agile. He is incredibly fast and a very accomplished hunter.

Despite his adventurous nature, Cookie is an affectionate companion. He likes to roll around our feet and has a habit of walking down the stairs just ahead of us, putting us at risk of tripping over him with his cheeky manoeuvres. Every now and then, he jumps onto my desk to announce that it is time for a break – a suggestion I am not always sorry to accept!

Cookie eats only dry food, supplemented by the mice he catches, and drinks plenty of water. When I water the plants in the garden, he sometimes jumps into the pots to lick up the moisture or tries to catch the trickle from the watering can. It almost looks as though I am watering him rather than the plants!

I spoke to Sooty in Polish, and I do the same with Cookie. Cats are remarkably intelligent creatures, and I have never felt that language was a barrier between us.